As is known in the fire-fighting environment, an ample supply of water is critical to extinguishing many types of fires. The supply typically comes from a nearby fire hydrant, where a supply hose is attached. This allows water to flow from a municipal water source to a fire truck, nozzle, or other pumping and dispensing device. After use, the hose must be drained for proper transportation and storage. Originally, fire hose had a diameter and fluid capacity that was manageable by fire-fighting professionals. Recently, large diameter hose has been introduced, where the diameter can be over 4 inches, allowing improved supply over previous hose diameters. Because of the large diameter, the hose holds a significant amount of water, causing it to be very heavy when it is full. When the pressure is released and the ends disconnected, the hose still retains a significant amount of water, causing it to be quite heavy. Firefighters are stuck with the difficult task of draining the hose once the firefighting is over and it is time to return to the station. One method is to lift a part of it over one's shoulder and simply walk underneath, driving the water out one end using gravity. Shoulder and back problems are commonplace with firefighters and lifting and walking under a heavy hose to drain it only can exacerbate these problems, causing absences, missed time, disability, and increased health care costs.
Currently, there are devices available on the market that attempt to address this issue. U.S. Pat. No. 8,578,847 discloses a device for draining a hose and is commonly used for draining large diameter hose. This device lifts up a portion of the hose and then rolls over it to use gravity and then compression to drain the hose. The compression is established by the weight of the rear roller rolling over the hose. For this to work properly, the rear roller must be heavy, causing the entire device to be heavy. Another device, disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,661,683 also attempts to address the issue of draining a large diameter hose. This device is made to both drain and/or coil up a hose. Because it serves two functions, it is relatively large, heavy, and complicated to use. An improved hose draining device is needed.